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Brought to you by Plants Nouveau

--- The Garden Rant ---

Dear Reader,

Thanksgiving has come and gone. Have you recovered yet?

We’ve finally finished all the dishes and removed the extra leaves from the table.
There were 14 of us for supper. Here's a look at our feast...

The appetizer menu:

• Cheese and sausage from Di Bruno’s Market in Philly (thanks to friend Steve)
• Fresh apple salsa and blue corn chips
• My famous scallion cheese ball, always a hit
• A newly invented, quite festive beverage (thanks to friend Bradley) which
included Semi sweet Gewürztraminer wine, and a compote cranberries, rosemary,
lemon thyme and pomegranate. Add a spoonful of the compote to the glass, then fill
with wine

The supper menu:

• Scarlet carrot soup

• Fresh, apple/spice - brined turkey
• Cranberry relish with Cointreau and herbs
• Mashed potatoes
• Cheesy blue potatoes
• Collard and kale greens cakes
• Succotash made with fresh corn
• Roasted root veggies (turnips, rutabagas and yams) and with a maple syrup
glaze
• Green bean casserole (sister-in-law Tina’s specialty)
• Maryland Sauerkraut – a tradition in my home state
• Roasted cheddar cauliflower
• Traditional stuffing with fresh sage, thyme, and rosemary from my herb garden
• Rolls
• Pumpkin pie (Mom’s famous)
• Apple pie
• Red wine for us – a Morgon region from DeBuef
• Grammy’s holiday punch (made by my 83 yr old grandmother!)
• Fresh apple cider for the kids

What do you think, too much?

I took off the whole week to prep the food, yet the food didn’t hit the table
until 6pm. I was chopping and dicing for days. Our day was filled with family,
friends and LOTS of food. I’ve been collecting the produce for two weeks from the
local farmer’s market. It was the blue potatoes and the orange (cheddar)
cauliflower that caught my eye. The cauliflower, we’ve had, but never have I seen
or cooked the blue potatoes. They were the loveliest shade of deep indigo blue. I
sliced them on the mandolin and added Jarlsberg, Parmesan and Wisconsin cheddar
cheese and then baked them until crispy on the edges. Yummy!

I love trying new things, especially with vegetables – can you tell from the menu?
I love celebrating the harvest. Thanksgiving is all about the harvest and
celebrating with family and friends. My extended family thinks I’m crazy to do
all of this. It’s fun for me. I start searching for exciting new recipes a month
in advance. Some of them become permanent addition to our feast in subsequent
years. Some don’t. I quite liked the taste of the soup this year, but I don’t
think it was a hit.

Oh well…

The bird, on the other hand was picture perfect. Look at the golden brown skin.
The secret? A butter rub before I put it in the oven. This bird looked good
enough for the front cover of any food magazine, if I do say so myself.

This year I am grateful for many things. I have a happy, healthy family. My two
geriatric pets (aspen the cat who is 17 and Scully the German Shepherd, who is 12)
are pain free and happy to be a part of the family. My business is doing quite
well, despite the economy (I am afraid for 2010, though…fingers crossed). I am
thankful for my loving husband, who appreciates and understands me. He’s also the
reason for our behind-the-scenes online success. When people search for new plants
now, they easily find Plants Nouveau. He has big plans for our little company
site.

I am also thankful for the people that have found plants and/or created them, for
without them, I would have no business. Without their trust, I would have no
plants to promote.

I am thankful for Wilco van den Berg, who I affectionately call my “Dutch
connection”, for without Wilco’s faith in my abilities and his connections to
breeders in The Netherlands, I wouldn’t have started this company.

They were the foundation and thanks to their trust, more people who have found new
plants, trust their introductions to Plants Nouveau.

Speaking of breeders and people who trust my abilities, I am happy to announce

that I will have future introductions form The Primrose Path and The Morris
Arboretum of The University of Pennsylvania in the near future. I have now
officially added a few woody plants (shrubs and trees) to my offerings. More on
those plants soon…

Charles and Martha Oliver of The Primrose Path are famous in many circles for
their impeccable coral bells or Heuchera (pronounced hoy-ker-a) breeding. They
are now breeding heucheras for cut flowers. I am thrilled to have two new
selections to offer in 2011. Look for more info on new chocolate and silver-
leaved selections in e-letters to come and on the website in early 2010.

Staff members from The Morris Arboretum of The University of Pennsylvania have
regularly engaged in plant collecting expeditions in Asia and the United States,
increasing the diversity of plants available for today’s urban and community
landscapes. Currently plants from 27 countries are represented in the collection
with a primary focus on Asian temperate species. Plans are in the works to
introduce a birch (Betula sp.) that has been borer resistant for over 30 years, a
Japanese cornelian cherry (Cornus officinalis) tree with exceptionally large,
lemon yellow blooms and a few dwarf, broadleaved evergreens. Trial plants of
these selections should be available early next year.

I’m thankful for these new additions and hopeful the plants introduced will be
well received and utilized by the public.
So that’s it for our Thanksgiving holiday issue of The Weeding Gnome. I’d like to
leave you with this quote from one of my favorite Dar Williams songs. To me, it
sums up the meaning of Thanksgiving. Everyone coming together under one roof to
give thanks for whatever they are thankful for, in whatever way they can.

“So the Christians and the Pagans sat together at the table,
Finding faith and common ground the best that they were able,
And just before the meal was served, hands were held and prayers were said,
Sending hope for peace on earth to all their gods and goddesses.”

Until next week…

Happy Weeding.

Angela Treadwell Palmer

President, Plants Nouveau

P.S. - I’ve had a few requests for gnome sources. Although I mostly happen upon
my gnomes, I have bought a few online. Here are some good sources for your
Christmas shopping needs:

The Gnome outlet http://www.gnomeoutlet.com

I love this place because their gnomes all have names.

Enchanted Gardens http://www.miniature-gardens.com/miniatures/garden.html

They have the cutest miniature gnomes.

P.S.S. - I am also really, really thankful, yet a
the dying silver maple up the street finally came
watched them take it down. We are all safe now.
was for the best. If you don’t know this story it
About Trees, Baby”.
bit sad at the same time; that
down on Tuesday this week. I
It was really rotten inside. It
was the rant called “Let’s Talk

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